Something Pretty
by surrender31
Summary: Jess returns to Stars Hollow.For a reason that you won't expect.
1. The hardest thing

A/N: Hey guys..I want to thank ya'll for reading my story. Now it's angst and sad, but please trust me. After you read this chapter, keep one thing in mind: I am not ASP. I love Jess. Please just trust me. Big thanks go to **Leigh **and **Stephanie, **who are the most amazing editors a girl could ever ask for. you guys are great! i live off reviews so pleasee, leave me a note with your thoughts. Not if you're going to flame me though, lol.

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Something Pretty.

Chapter One: The Hardest Thing

_"I was a dumb punk kid with nothing to lose....."_

x x x

He stared at it.

It was simple. All he had to do was pick up the receiver, take a deep breath, dial, and talk.

But why did it seem so difficult now?

_Because he's like a father to you._

He stared at the phone in a daze, the same one he had been in since he found out just two days ago.

He stared at it for another minute before picking it up.

He took a deep breath and dialed. The phone rang twice before a voice was heard on the other end.

_"Hey Luke. It's Jess. I need to talk to you..."_

x x x

He stopped his car when he reached the sign. The outer limits of Stars Hollow. He had made it a tradition that the last few times he came; _he_ would just stop at the Welcome sign and stare.

_Welcome to Stars Hollow. Population 9,973. _

He sighed as he looked at it. Just a year ago, this town had one more resident. Him. But the population number might never benefit from him again. Not now.

After looking at the sign for another moment, he sifted his car into drive and slowly made his way into the town.

_The only place that's ever felt like home._

He drove past Ms. Patty's, Al's Pancake World, and Dooses' until he finally slowed his car down and parked in front of Luke's.

He turned off his car and then checked his watch.  
'Nine,' he thought, knowing that most of the businesses were either shutting down or closed for the night.

As much as he hated to admit it, he liked Stars Hollow at night. It was peaceful and before he left, he spent much of his night outside, just reading or sitting at the bridge.

He looked out the window of his car and saw that there were only a few people still in Luke's. No sign of the Gilmores. Thank god, that was a confrontation he didn't need.

He took a deep breath before getting out of his car and going into the dinner.

At the sound of the bell jingling on the door, Luke looked up and smiled when he saw Jess.

"Hey, you're here," Luke said, as Jess slowly made his way over to the counter.

The two men embraced in a quick hug. "Go on up," Luke said. "I just have to close up and then I'll join you."

"Okay," Jess replied, "Do you need any help?"

Luke shook his head. "No it's fine. I'll be up in a few minutes."

"Okay," Jess nodded and walked up the stairs.

x x x

Jess sat down at the table in the kitchen of the apartment and breathed in slowly.

_You can do this Jess. Just tell him the truth._

Just then, Jess heard Luke's footsteps on the stairs and realized it was time.

Luke opened the door to the apartment. "All closed up. Place hasn't changed much, huh?"

Jess looked around. And smirked. "Everything looks the same. EXCEPT your bed looks like it hasn't been slept in for weeks."

Luke blushed and said, "Well you see, um, Lorelai and I...."

Jess smirked again. "Ah, Lorelai. I get it now."

"We're..." Luke stammered, "Ah hell, Why are you here, anyways? It must be important."

_You have no idea._

Jess swallowed hard and looked down at his hands, "I um...."

"Jess?" Luke asked, concerned, sitting down at the table across from him. "What's going on?"

_This will probably be the hardest thing he's ever had to say._

"Luke," he said quietly, "I have cancer."


	2. Hope dangles on a string

_Spoilers: Everything up to and in Season 4 happened. Rory is in Europe, on bad terms with Lorelai. Luke didn't leave however. This occurs a few weeks after the Season 4 Finale.  
_

Author's Note: Thank you guys soooo much for your reviews. They mean sooo much to me!! Big thanks go to Stephanie, EFW, and the Leigh for being betas. and being just purely amazing. One last thing:Please just trust me, once again._**  
**_

_**  
Chapter Two- Hope...dangles on a string.**_

"_And too much weight for walking shoes...."_

"Can... Cancer?" Luke stammered, "You can't have cancer. You're Jess! You're too stubborn to have cancer and you're only 19. Nineteen! You can't possibly have cancer."

"Well I do," Jess answered.

"What type do you have?" Luke asked, "I bet it's lung cancer, I gave you those damn patches and gum, I should have made you wear them, chewed the gum, made you stop..."

"Luke," Jess interrupted, "I don't have lung cancer. I have renal cell cancer."

"Renal Cell Cancer? What is that?" Luke asked.

"It's basically cancer of the kidney. It's where cancer cells are found in the little tubes that filter and clean the blood within the kidney." Jess said.

"Is it...." Luke stammered, "..terminal?"

Jess sighed, "It varies on the stage that the cancer is in when they find it. The doctors that I saw in New York weren't able to determine what stage I'm in, but they were confident that the cancer hasn't spread from the kidney yet."

"Yet?" Luke questioned, "What are you going to do about treatment?"

"Well, my doctor said there was this doctor in Hartford, that he's an extremely well-recommended specialist on renal cell cancer. My doctor said that he would be able to determine what stage I'm in exactly and determine what treatment would be best," Jess said.

"You're staying with me," Luke said firmly.

"Luke, I don't want to be a burden to you," Jess said, "You have a diner to run. You just got together with Lorelai. I don't want for you to have to worry about having to take care of me."

"I would worry about you more if you were in that shoebox of an apartment, living with 3 other guys, while getting treatment. I'm not compromising. You're staying here with me and you're going to that specialist in Hartford," Luke answered.

"Luke..." Jess began to say, but stopped himself, "Thank you."

x x x

Lorelai looked up and smiled as she saw Luke walk in the front door of the Dragonfly.

"Hey! I was wondering where you were, you didn't come by for dinner like you said you were going to," she said with a smile on her face. She stopped, noticing the look on his face, "Luke, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. The diner just got really busy and I had a visitor," Luke replied.

"Don't even try that with me, Luke Danes. I know you and I know when something is wrong. You had a visitor? Who was it?" Lorelai questioned.

"It was Jess," Luke said.

"Jess?" Lorelai said, "What did he say to upset you this time?"

"Lorelai, he didn't do anything," Luke said as he looked around the inn, "Come outside with me for a minute. I want to talk to you in private."

"Okay," Lorelai said baffled as they walked outside on the porch.

"Luke, what's going on?" Lorelai asked, genuinely confused.

"Lorelai," Luke sighed, "I don't know how to say this."

"You're... You're breaking up with me?!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"No! No!" Luke yelled, "I'm not breaking up with you. I would not do that to you. I care about you, Lorelai."

"Okay, if you're not breaking up with me, then what's wrong?" Lorelai questioned.

"Its Jess," Luke explained, "He's sick."

"Well then have the kid go to the doctor. I'm sure he'll be okay soon," Lorelai said.

"No, Lorelai," Luke said, "He's not sick as in a cold, he's really sick. He has cancer."

"Cancer?" Lorelai said, "He can't have cancer. He's Jess! He's a rebel without a cause! Rebels without a cause do not get cancer!"

"Lorelai," Luke said softly, "He has cancer."

"Luke?"

"Yeah?" he replied as they sat side by side on the loveseat.

"Is he going to be okay?" Lorelai asked softly.

"I don't know.." Luke said quietly, "I don't know..."

x x x

Luke quietly entered the apartment, not wanting to wake up Jess if he was asleep.

"Luke?" Jess called out.

"Yeah Jess, it's me," Luke replied.

"I called the specialist's office while you were out, they actually had a cancellation so I'm going tomorrow morning," Jess said.

"Okay great," Luke said, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"If you want to," Jess replied.

"Okay," Luke said, "I'm going to bed now. I have to open up tomorrow."

"Okay" Jess said as he picked up his book and started to read once again.

The apartment had been dark and quiet for nearly 10 minutes before Jess spoke up.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Come with me tomorrow?"

"Sure Jess."

"Goodnight Luke."

"Goodnight."

"Luke?"

"Yeah Jess?"

"Thanks."

"No problem Jess. No problem."

x x x

"So, how did his appointment go?" Lorelai asked as her and Luke stood in the main hallway of the Dragonfly two days later.

"It was alright. The doctor ran some tests and asked Jess some questions about his medical history. He said he would call sometime soon to let us know the test results," Luke said.

"Good. And is Jess doing okay?" Lorelai asked.

Luke sighed, "He's doing okay. I guess the best that could be expected. He's just so young, you know? He has been struggling his whole life, he doesn't deserve to be sick on top of everything else that has happened to him."

"I know sweetie," Lorelai said, "No one deserves this. Did he say what time he was coming?"

"Yeah. He said he would be here by 7:30. And it's just about 7:30 now, so," Luke said as he looked over to the front door, "There he is."

Jess walked into the inn, looked around and then spotted his uncle and Lorelai. He walked over and said, "Hey Uncle Luke. Lorelai."

"Jess," Luke said as he nodded.

"Hi Jess. It's nice to see you again," Lorelai responded.

Jess looked around at the inn and said, "You've done a really nice job with this Lorelai. It's beautiful."

Lorelai smiled and said "Thank you. I forgot that you weren't here when it was getting built."

"Uh yeah," Jess said, obviously not wanting to bring up Rory.

"Shall we?" Lorelai said, motioning to the dining room, "Sookie has made us a delicious meal."

They were just finishing dessert when Jess's cell phone rang. He looked down and sighed.

"I have to take this," he said, "It's the doctor."

Jess stood from the table and walked out of the dining room towards the front door of the inn, "Hello?" was heard as he exited the Dragonfly.

Luke stared at the door that Jess had just walked out of and Lorelai reached her hand out and grasped Luke's. He looked over at her and she gave him a supportive smile. He smiled sadly back.

5 minutes passed. No sign of Jess. Then ten minutes. Then twenty. Still no Jess.

Luke sighed and began to stand up, "I'm going to go look for him," he said.

"No Luke," Lorelai said, "Let me."

Luke looked surprised and then nodded as Lorelai stood up and walked out of the inn.

As she walked out onto the porch, she saw a figure sitting on the edge of the porch. Shoulders falling in dismay.

She slowly approached them and sat down next to them.

"Jess?" she said softly as he tried to quickly hide the traces of any tears on his face.

"The doctors in New York were wrong. My cancer is in stage three. That means it's spread from the kidney and it's hardier to treat," Jess said.

"Oh Jess," Lorelai said quietly, "I'm so sorry."

Jess looked up and his eyes met with Lorelai's. "I could die Lorelai. I could die, "he said sadly.

"Oh honey," Lorelai said sadly as she put an arm on Jess' shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, "Everything's going to be okay...it's going to be okay..."

_No. It's not._

Jess recoiled at Lorelai's touch, as if he had been punched, and stood up quickly.  
"No, it's not going to be alright," he said.

He walked down the steps of the porch as Lorelai stood up,  
"Jess," she began to say.

"No," he cut her off, "I have screwed up so many things in my life and it seems like I can never get anything right. My whole life, the only thing I've ever been good at is screwing up. I guess this is what screw-ups deserve."

Lorelai and Jess looked at each other for a moment, before he turned and started to walk away.

"No Jess," she said, "You don't deserve this. You don't.'

But those words never reached his ears. He was gone.

Lorelai stared at his back for a moment,

"You were always good at that too," she said as she sighed and headed back into the inn.


	3. Don't stop believing

A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I realize that it's been over a year, but many events that happened in my personal life held me back from being able to write this story. About a month after I began writing this story, my sister, my only sibling, was diagnosed with cancer. This was a huge blow to me and normally, this would only help me write. But since I was writing a story about one of my favorite TV characters having cancer, it just hit too close to home. My sister passed away in January 2006 and my life has not been the same since. But I always planned to continue my story, not matter what, because at least with this outcome, I can control it. I don't know how long it will be in between updates, this took me months to right, because I want to capture the emotions just right since I now have a better understanding. Thank you all for your understanding. On a final note, I would like to dedicate this chapter and the whole story to the memory of my sister, Megan. I miss you more than anyone could ever know.

_Something Pretty.  
_

Chapter Three: "Don't stop…believing."

_"And I know ugliness…"_

x x x

He crept quietly into the apartment late that night, trying to be discreet and not wake up Luke. He made it all the way to his side of the apartment before a light clicked on.  
"Jess, is that you?" Luke asked.  
"Who else would be sneaking into your apartment in the middle of the night?" Jess replied sarcastically.  
"Jess…" Luke sighed, "Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine" Jess mumbled.  
"Jess, come on," Luke said, "Lorelai told me what the doctors said. Talk to me."  
"I'm just…" Jess ran a hand thru his long hair, "I'm...angry. I'm angry that the doctors didn't catch this and got my hopes up."  
"Jess," Luke said firmly, "They didn't get your hopes up. You are going to beat this. You hear me? We are going to talk to your doctor again tomorrow to find out the best possible treatment, and we are starting it as soon as possible."  
"Okay" Jess said.  
"Now get some sleep," Luke said, "You need all of your strength. Goodnight."  
"Goodnight Luke," Jess said and the light flicked off.

x x x

Lorelai sighed as she stared down at her cell phone; she knew she had to attempt to do this. It was the right thing.  
She looked down at the number of the hotel her mother had left with her, and began dialing the number.  
After a few minutes, she was connected with Rory's room.  
"Hello?" her daughter's voice came thru the phone.  
She paused for a minute and then said "Hey Rory, its Mom"  
"Oh, hi." Rory replied.  
"So, Rome?" Lorelai asked.  
"Yup" Rory replied.  
"Weather good?" Lorelai asked  
"Hot in the day, cooler at night."  
"Uh-huh, that's kind of what we're having here." Lorelai replied  
"Huh. Coinky-dink." Rory said.  
"Yeah. So..." Lorelai began.  
" So..." Rory said and then there was a long pause.  
"Um, I guess I'll be seeing you in a couple of days then." Lorelai said  
"Yep." Rory replied.   
"Great, then. Be safe, and watch out for those Italian men, especially the ones named Randy." Lorelai said  
"I will. Bye." Rory replied.  
"Wait Rory. I have something I need to tell you." Lorelai said quickly.  
"I have to go Mom, Grandma has some tour she wants us to go on. Bye"  
"Bye." Lorelai said to the dial tone.  
Lorelai sighed as she looked down at her phone.  
"Oh well," she thought and walked away into the kitchen of the Dragonfly.

x x x

"So Mr. Mariano, what we are trying to tell you that you are actually in Stage Three of the cancer. This means it has spread to lymph nodes around the kidney. Now, I want you to realize that yes, the cancer is more progressed that we originally thought, but that doesn't mean that we can't fight this," Jess's doctor, Dr. Reynolds said.

"Lymph nodes?" Luke asked, "What exactly are those?"  
"That's a good question," Dr. Reynolds replied, "Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body. They produce and store infection-fighting cells."  
"Okay, so the ones near my kidney have been affected," Jess said as he stared at his hands and sighed, "What kind of treatment would you recommend?"  
"One of the options for you is surgery, we would go in and remove the kidney. However, if you don't want to go that route, there is always chemotherapy and radiation, which are very good options too." Dr. Reynolds said.  
"Doctor, what would you recommend?" Luke asked.  
"I think that we should start with the chemotherapy and radiation," Dr. Reynolds said, "And if we don't see any results from them after some time, we could decide whether or not we want to keep trying or do the surgery."  
"Jess?" Luke said, "What do you think?"  
Luke looked over at his nephew, sitting in a chair, looking rake-thin and pale, and he felt a sudden urge to just protect him. Protect him from everything that was going to happen.  
After a minute of silence, Jess said softly, "The chemo and radiation."  
"Okay," Luke said, "Are you sure?"  
Jess , who had been staring down at his hands for most of the meeting, slowly looked up and looked his uncle in the eyes, "I don't want surgery."  
"Okay," Luke sighed, "When can we start the chemo and radiation?"  
"Well," Dr. Reynolds said, "We want to start them as soon as possible, I would say the beginning of next week. Now, there are some side effects to the chemotherapy and radiation that I want to warn you of. These side effects include everything from fatigue, nausea, and vomiting, to hair loss. I just want you to be fully prepared."  
"Okay," Luke said as he stood up and shook the doctor's hand, "Thank you doctor."  
Jess stood up and thanked the doctor as well. The pair left the doctor's office after making an appointment to begin treatment the next week.

x x x

The drive home was quiet, as the two sat in a comfortable silence.  
Luke had been struggling with what he should say to his nephew the entire car ride. Sighing he pulled up to the diner and said quietly,  
"Jess? Are you okay?"  
Jess, who had been staring quietly out of the truck's window, looked down at his hands.

_I don't know if I can do this._

He looked up at his uncle, who was looking at him with worry and concern. He looked over his uncle's shoulder, and saw Lorelai, sitting in the diner, looking at the truck anxiously, with concern etched on her face.

_I have to do this, for myself. But not only for myself. But for him. Do this for Luke, Jess._

"Yeah, Uncle Luke," Jess said as he looked at his uncle again, "I'm going to be okay."

End Chapter.


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